Dear Mayor and Members of the Vista City Council,
I am writing regarding Agenda Item D5, the discussion of ranked choice voting for Vista’s mayoral and City Council races. After reviewing the issue, I do not believe this is the right fit for our city.
Ranked choice voting (RCV) is typically used in jurisdictions with crowded races, multiple candidates, and costly runoff elections. Vista does not face those conditions. Our local races often struggle to attract more than two or three candidates, and in some cases, seats have gone uncontested. The circumstances often cited to justify ranked-choice voting simply do not exist here.
The use of RCV is also very limited. Nationally, fewer than 0.26 percent of U.S. cities have implemented ranked choice voting. In California, fewer than 2 percent of cities use it. Even the City of San Diego, with a much larger population and more complex elections, has discussed ranked choice voting multiple times without moving forward. Santa Clara approved ranked choice voting in 1998 and still has not implemented it, which raises real questions about how practical RCV actually is.
Additionally, in a 2010 San Francisco Board of Supervisors race conducted using ranked-choice voting, the count went into 20 rounds. Over 9,000 ballots were exhausted during the process, meaning some voters ultimately had no say in the final outcome. That is not what a stronger democracy looks like.
This comes with real costs to the City of Vista and would require spending taxpayer dollars on a system we don’t need. Reprogramming systems, training staff, voter education, legal expenses, and placing a measure on the ballot all require funding. These dollars come directly from Vista taxpayers without a clear benefit to our city.
I would ask whether this is the best use of the Council’s time and the City’s resources. Residents expect focus on pressing issues such as public safety, road conditions, economic development, homelessness, and affordability. This proposal does not address those concerns.
Ranked choice voting may be appropriate in other jurisdictions under the right conditions. For Vista, it appears to be a solution in search of a problem.
Thank you for your consideration.
Denisse Barragan
